Mark Davies has headed the Texaco Havoline Ginetta Championship since Oulton Park, but the gap is shrinking as the series heads to Silverstone this weekend.

Davies has been an impressive newcomer to the Texaco Havoline Ginetta Championship this season. The former Renault Clio racer made his Ginetta debut at the end of last season and was bang on the pace, carrying that same form into this year’s main championship. A win came at Oulton Park, another at Rockingham, followed by one at Knockhill and Snetterton meaning that at each event he had bagged a race victory. Then came the unthinkable: he failed to score a win at Donington Park. Whilst Davies’ points tally is still enough to keep him in the lead of the title race, he is now just 26 points ahead of Andrew Smith. With 37 points available for each race, that means Davies is on the back foot for the first time all season. Expect him to fight back at Silverstone this weekend but life won’t be easy.

Smith took a win at Rockingham and then again at Snetterton to move himself into contention. Granted, he struggled for pace in the second Donington round but should go well at Silverstone – like Davies he has scored in every race so far this season but, unlike Davies (and nearest pursuer Dominic Pettit), he hasn’t been docked points for driving standards offences. That means that everything Smith has scored, he has kept.

Pettit has been the only double-winner of the season when he took two fine victories at the rescheduled Donington meeting in July. Pettit, who raced at Silverstone in Formula Palmer Audi in the summer, is 50 points adrift of Smith, but two wins (plus points for pole and fastest lap) could draw him back into contention this weekend.

Ranged against the top three in the 1800cc, Ford Zetec-engined, Leeds-built cars are the ever-improving David Jackson (enjoying his best season to date), racing rookie Sean Huyton and former Volkswagen racer Alex Dzuirzynski. All three have the pace to run at the front as does another who improves race by race: George Murrells. He made an inspired tyre choice at Donington and, had the track dried quickly enough, could have bagged a win. As it was, third was his best result of the season.

Others that can’t be ignored are Julian Barratt and Russell McCarthy, both of whom have the pace to run at the head of the field, but have been in the wars for myriad reasons this season. Add in Matt Flowers, Peter Dignan and Freddie Hetherington and the scene is set for two more superb races. With a fast and wide circuit like Silverstone, this should be a perfect venue for two crucial races in the championship.

The cars have a free practice session on the Silverstone International circuit at 10.25 on Saturday August 15 with qualifying coming at 13:10. Race one is on Saturday afternoon at 16:45 with race two on Sunday at 11:50.

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